The LG Optimus 3D runs Android 2.2.2 Froyo with a couple of tweaks mostly on the visual side to improve the experience. We're impressed with the speed of Froyo on the Optimus 3D – virtually everywhere in the menus navigation is fluid, everything moves with instant response, without the slightest hint of lag. With most other high-end handsets running Gingerbread, though, having only Froyo looks like a downside, but LG promises to fix this with an update coming soon.

To get into the home screen of the Optimus 3D, you pull the curtain-like transparent lock screen updated with latest information on messages, calls and your battery status. By default, everything runs in standard 2D mode, so 3D won't really get in your way. There are seven home screens, which you can flick through, but they also support pinch to zoom for an overview and you can pull down from top for the typical Android drop down, garnished with five additional icons for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, volume control and screen rotation. Pre-installed comes a beautiful weather widget getting information from AccuWeather and the Social+ social network aggregator bringing you the latest updates from Facebook, Twitter and MySpace. A long tap on some of those widgets like Weather and Calendar allows you to resize them which sounds neat, but you actually only get to pick between pre-defined sizes.

The LG Optimus 3D has Android 2.2 skinned with LG's Optimus UI

Except for those peculiarities, you have the standard Froyo UI, looking much like the interface of the LG Optimus 2X, so feel free to check out our detailed look at Froyo and the Optimus UI.

The contacts application is the standard Froyo address book, but LG had stepped up the game with a contacts widget granting you quick access to your best buddies. A single tap on their icon shows a pop-up menu through which you can call, text or locate the person.

Dialer

Contacts

Messaging on the 4.3-inch screen is a breeze with plenty of space for the buttons, so your fingers can type essays worth of text free of errors. That won't protect you from misspelled words, though, as by default the spell checker is turned off. Threaded conversations are also supported, while for emails you get LG's own simplistic interface.

The on screen-keyboard of LG Optimus 3D

3D Space:

Long hold the 3D button on the right and you fly into 3D Space, the three-dimensional menu of the handset. Bells and whistles or a core feature? It's up to the user to decide, but a carousel of 6 huge icons swirls around with each of the icons unfolding your way giving you a clear sense of the 3D effect. The first thing that you'd want to tap in the 3D Space view is the 3D guide icon showing you the ropes of 3D viewing and recording. Then there is the YouTube icon taking you directly to all 3D videos in YouTube.

The 3D Space view

3D videos in YouTube

The 3D gallery application opens the world of self-made 3D content. It all works smoothly and offers impressive visuals in two different views – one with diagonally arranged content and the other with a horizontally oriented tiles. Alas, you can't really sort the content as it's displayed in a continuous row of icons arranged by date, but while not extremely functional, the app does deliver the visuals.

To view all 3D content, you can open the 3D gallery application

What's 3D without the 3D Games and Apps section, you might wonder. And rightly so – the phone comes with only four 3D-optimized titles. There are three games with slight modifications to fit the 3D concept – Asphalt 6, NOVA and Let's Golf 2. While all those apps claim to be optimized for 3D we saw only a very minor effect there, mostly noticeable in the menus and titles but not so much within the game, making us often wonder whether that's really the 3D we were looking for. Finally, there's also a weird version of Gulliver's Travels, allowing you to scroll through something like a very short animated 3D storybook without any text of the actual story.

3D Games

Overall, while there are some additional 3D trailers, the Optimus 3D sorely lacks the appealing content that would justify its three dimensionality. You'll have to rely on your own photographic skills using the handset's cameras.

Easy choice: choose Galaxy SII. Choose the LG if you want to impress your friends for 10mins with the gimmicky 3D (that's about how long your battery will last). The Galaxy SII is a beast with future-proof features and no gimmicks...clearly the winner.

6.bastian890 (unregistered)

About samsung gs2 i don´t like the fact that it doesn´t have stereo speakers or stereo mics for video and i always disliked android icons and widgets and i´m not a fan of samsung either.But with dual core 1.2ghz speed, a processor that delivers the best benchmarks so far, 1gb ram, 4.3 super amoled plus without the pentile arrangement as the previous model, codecs support, mhl and usb on the go, bluetooth 3.0, it´s certainly future proof and won´t be obsolete in at least three years. It´s even hard to imagine better features. I can only think of camera improvements, quad core processor, foldable screen... by the way i don´t own a gs2.

if u want battery, performance, camera, and higher rez screen, go SGS2. If you want performance and 3d go for the LG.

Personally I think after a few XDA mods the LG battery could be made to last quite a while.. it will need a gingerbread rom and probably removal of the 3d stuff to do it though. The phone is a large screen powerhouse though.

20.Trick (unregistered)

SGSII and LG Optimus 3d have same screen size and resolution, 4.3" 800X480.

On certain benchmarks like flash the LG optimus g2x beats the SGSII in performance. The G2x is essentially the same hardware as the 3D without the 3D. In other cases (sunspider for instance) the SGSII comes out the better. Check Andandtech's Review.

Battery life sucks on all smartphones. My wife and I shoot for about 15 hours of life on our Captivate and Inspire4g phones and often we are disappointed.

With all due respect, but canPA ask John to do the video reviews? Seriously, the guy (whoever he is) is so boring. Hearing his voice make me sleepy, and is also too biased towards apple. Please make John your chief reviewer. That guys is awsome and unbiased like the one making this video

13.Motto Pubies (unregistered)

I think whoever does the written reviews also does the video portion. That being said, I agree with you. John V is the best video reviewer on PA and should do all of them even if he just reads what somebody else wrote. The other video reviewers here are pretty bad actually, and I have a tough time even finishing the video.

19.Illusionist (unregistered)

Ahhhh..that's going to be really annoying..every couple of weeks finding a new "killer" phone with tons of new features and glossy structure,buyers need some break!

i have the LG 3D 47" LED..and i can say the whole 3d technology is little boring and sometimes crab..i don't think it can be the fashion for the next ten years.
any how..this device is an invention it self ,but not every invention is a great product,

21.arun rawat (unregistered)

22.LGNoob (unregistered)

I purchased an LG Thrill and am completely disappointed. I've read a bunch of reviews about it and none have discussed the true downsides of the device. It's as if they used the phone long enough just to make the review. This is what I've found:

The phone is glitchy. The home screen will restart and redraw my icons and widgets so there are times when I hit the home button that I'm presented with a temporarily blank screen and left waiting. Not to mention that pretty much anything that LG has made software-wise has either frozen/crashed or reset on me with normal use. There are even times when I can't seem to unlock the phone because the swipe screen only goes up a little bit and then resets so I have to try over and over until it finally unlocks (and yes I know you have to grab the bottom of the slider).

Hardware wise seems to be solid, however things like the gyroscope stopped working on me so I had to reset the phone to get it to detect and change from portrait to landscape mode. The speaker when listening to phone calls distorts constantly with higher pitched voices until you turn the volume down under half volume which is not as high as I'd like because I don't push the phone directly against my ear.

Of the 4 stock icons on the bottom, at least 2 are stupid but you cannot change them to what you actually want there. I rarely use the phone icon and I never use the 3D icon.

3D isn't just kinda stupid, it's terrible. You get this terrible looking picture (because it's 1/2 the resolution streeeeetched out) that never looks quite right. The games inputs change from tilting to pushing the screen because you can't tilt the device without losing the 3D image. And the reason each person has a different experience is that each person's eyes are at different distances from eachother on their heads. Also, the flash does not function in 3D capture mode. The 3D is a complete waste and should not be the sole reason to buy this phone.

It's really freaking heavy. I'm not used to LG or Motorola devices so to me this thing feels like a brick.

The battery life does suck bigtime. I left my phone completely idle from a full charge just to see how quickly the battery would drain... after 4 hours I was down to under 80% charge which means it should only last at MOST 20 hours total. It reminds me of my old Palm Pre.

The build and finish of this phone is top notch though. I LOVE the feel of the back cover and the brushed panels on the front are a nice touch.

you can change the 4 stock icons on the bottom and the battery life isn't that bad it can last with me more than 30 hours with moderate use. I didn't face any of the problems you mentioned so I think its a very good phone after all... ;)

23.Damon (unregistered)

I am looking for a tough phone that will work well and download fast. I think the LG Thrill sounds great! There is a lot to love on this phone, mainly the dual-core processor and 4G. I love streaming movies so with all of these features, the Thrill should have no problem keeping up with me. The app that I use to stream is the DISH Remote Access app. I love this app because it lets me stream movies and TV shows anywhere I am in clear HD! As a customer and employee of DISH Network, I have been using the DISH Remote Access app for a long time on my previous phone, and I know that it is going to work great on the LG Thrill once I get it!

25.azhan (unregistered)

the galaxy s2 and the lg optimus 3d is the same.the difference between them is 3D.some people i agree that battery is terrible but i'm sure that lg will under estmate this and will make powerful battery like the same standard as galaxy s2 really if you want a phone that has a long lasting battery and does the same speed as the galaxy s2 plus do 3D than your best option is the HTC EVO 3D trust me thats a beast

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